Okay...I was google satellite researching this area and it is somewhat puzzling. If you go there, find the old brick power house, just a tad east of it you will find a fork in the old roadbed, where the line went north, and connected into a reverse loop that is (or was) only accessible from the eastbound side. The old roadbed was on the north of the power house, there appears to be a newer alignment to the south, that is laid across the reverse loop, fork, and all. The southerly portion of the split just east of the powerhouse connects to the old alignment and the bottom of the reverse loop (allowing a "wye" in that part of the reverse loop). The old main cuts south of the new main for 3500 feet or so, crosses the new main to the northerly side, appears that the ROW is used by a portion of HWY 294 as it swings around, then you can see the old main reconnect with the new main. There is ANOTHER roadbed visible that swings from the reverse loop area WAY north, then east, finally coming back into the new main 10,000-12,000 feet east. There are several old loops even further north, and one branch that heads WAY north, followed it a long, long way and finally lost it 5 miles north. Dave
This does not sound familiar. All that I recall there was just a siding. Is there any way you could copy and paste the aerial view?
I have Snag-It, but it doesn't seem to want to work on FireFox and Google maps. I'll look into it. I gave the coordinates..sort of. Type "Bruno, Montana" into google, select maps, find the mark which is a couple of miles east of the power house. Folow in satellite the "new" roadbed west to the curve to the south, you'll find the power house on the north side of the new roadbed. North of that is the old roadbed, follow it back east just a bit...and north...and it's rally confusing what they did here. I am guessing the return loop was snowplow reversing at some point. But there are at least three more lines further north all from the power house area, one WY up, then back. Logging? Maybe, but usually out and back, not parallel, connecting back in two places. I put this in railfanning as I thought more appropriate than here, but this works, too. Dave
Found the view. As you already know, part of that was due to the 1956 line change. You can see the original road bed easily. But the rest, I do not know. In early days, there was helper service up that grade. Also, we need to remember there was a predecessor company which operated through that site: The Montana Railroad or "The Jawbone". Built by Harlow, the man Harlowton was named after. It was controlled at one time by the NP, and the MILW bought that company as part of acquiring right of way between Harlowton, and Lombard on the Missouri River. What you are seeing could go back that far.
Could be. The line beside the power station (not before MILW?) the return loop, the wye, the first line curving through the main, the others further up...one WAY up, and back down the creek. Helper turning, snowplow turning, who knows. Off that return loop, going north, and it splits...they actually seem to cross further up, almost 90 degrees. The one headed north goes a long ways until I lose it, the one that is to the west, crosses it and comes back down the creek...the road to the east of Warm Spring Creek is part of it...the house..look west across the creek, you can see earthworks of the short line loop. Follow the discoloration (slight) south westerly, past the reservoir, to the fork of the two lines. Continue straight to the old wye, northerly goes to the upper newer loop, southerly goes to the lower newer loop (no idea how to describe those better). Looks like four old alignments covered by the latest alignment. Fascinating to know what happened there.
I've been sitting here thinking, trying to recall the pre-MILW history. I believe at one time, that might have been and end of Jawbone track construction. Before they pushed onward. I'd need to seriously re-read a book: "The Montana Railroad, Alias The Jawbone." (Don Baker) I did glance through it quickly. What you are seeing is indeed a junction. From the line north, it went to a mining area, towns of Leadborough and Castle. There was once a small settlement at Loweth, which was originally known as Summit.
With some names like that, I did find that last wye is actually called Leadborough Junction: http://itouchmap.com/?d=1762747&s=MT&f=locale And this map of Leadborough, which is about where I lost the grade: http://cartographic.info/usa/map.php?id=1762748 you can clearly see the old grade in the meadow west of Alabaugh Creek if you zoom and satellite. And a reverse across the creek to the east side of the forest service road.
Yup That's it. In the book mentioned is shows a couple of Montana RR timetables with Leadborough Junction.
